Insomnia: Visit from the Guardian of the Sea
by The Silver Falcon
Summary: A young boy cannot bring himself to sleep late one night. Could the arrival of a legend cure this boy of his insomnia? Oneshot.


It was late at night and the wind was still. The starry sky shined strongly tonight there were no clouds present in the black night sky. The full moon was reflected almost perfectly on the still ocean waters below. However, despite this peaceful night, there was one child who could not bring himself to sleep, no matter how hard he tried. He tossed and turned in his bed, hoping to find the sweet surrender of slumber but to no avail. He brought his tired body up with a groan and began to formulate plans on how to fall asleep. He heard the muffled noises coming from the outside world and shrugged; perhaps he may have an easier time falling asleep to the serenade of nature. He pulled the covers from atop his body and silently walked to the window. Pushing the blinds to the side, he unlocked the windows and pushed them open. A gentle but salty breeze entered the room. With a satisfied smile, he went back to bed. His eyes slowly closed and slowly drifted to sleep.

Suddenly his eyes shot open as he heard the faintest of noises, almost like an animal call. It was the sound of a soft churr coming from outside. He sat up again and looked out the window. The silhouette of a slender head quickly darted away from the window and outside. If it wasn't for the drapes moving he would've never had suspected anything. Taking a deep breath, he got out of bed once again and crept towards the open window to look outside. He gasped at the moon-bathed image before him. It resembled a bird, a large bird covered in feathers of majestic silver that seldom gleamed in the night. Any part of the bird that wasn't silver was a deep navy blue. Its eyes were a magnificent shade of emerald green. Around its eyes were blue, almond shaped appendages; it vaguely resembled a mask.

He wanted to scream, he wanted to scream and run away from the beast before him. Yet as they continued to stare, the overpowering emotions of fear and doubt subsided, and then ultimately disappeared. In its place was a refreshing feeling of peace and serenity. Somehow, he knew he could trust it. As he proceeded to assure himself of his safety, he brought a hand out to the creature, beckoning it to come closer. Slowly the creature brought its head towards his hand. With only a few inches spared between the two, the creature extended its long, thin tongue and quickly licked his hand a few times. The boy squirmed slightly, while it did tickle him he didn't want to ruin the creature's fun by pulling his arm away. It finally stopped licking and purred silently as the boy dried his saliva covered hand by rubbing it up and down his side.

The boy watched curiously as the creature slowly shuffled. It turned around to reveal its back; ten blue plates adorned the other side. The boy remained at the window, wondering what was happening before the creature turned its head around with an inviting purr. It was then he knew what it wanted; it wanted him to get on. Without thinking, he began climbing onto the windowsill. The creature's tail rose up beside him and picked him up. The beast delicately placed the boy on its upper back, near its shoulders. The boy gazed in marvel at the nighttime view as he felt movement below him; he quickly realized that the creature was running for takeoff. He watched its hand-like wings spread wide before finally, with one powerful flap, the bird and the boy were airborne, the boy's home quickly faded from view as the two flew farther away.

Fear instantly flooded his senses once again as he buried his head into the bird's nape and shut his eyes forcefully; he despised flying and cursed himself for being so easily enthralled by this beast. He wished he was back at home, safe and sound under the covers in his bed. He gripped the silver feathers harder, realizing that his wish may not be fulfilled anytime soon. He shuddered in fear as the thought of never returning home stayed within his mind. The creature however, sensed the boy's concerned mind. It turned its head around with a soft purr. It smiled pleasantly as the boy's shaking stopped slowly but surely. The bird nuzzled the boy's head, encouraging him to look up. The boy tilted his head upward and squinted, hoping to not see that they were hundreds of feet above the ground and possibly still climbing higher. The birds calming gaze once again pierced his clouded mind, ensuring him of his safety. The boy brought his body to rise.

The creature turned its head back around as the boy observed their surroundings. Ahead of them was nothing but the horizon of night. He forced himself to look below and saw the dark blue ocean waters rush past them. He looked above and saw a thick patch of clouds slowly come towards them. He realized quickly that they were still ascending and in due time, they would be traveling through those clouds. When they finally did, his breath froze in fear; however, he was quickly soothed once again by the soft humming of the bird below him. He found peace in staring at the creature's slender, silver neck, it gave him a reassuring feeling of protection in the mystery that was the clouds. When the two finally pierced the clouds line the boy dropped his jaw slightly. It looked as though they had entered an entirely new world. The once gray clouds had transformed into a white puffy sea. Auroras of blue, green and purple streaked across the skies; reflecting lights across the sea of white below and the creatures back. The cosmos above them shined brightly upon them as well.

The boy was stunned, never had he ever seen such an amazingly beautiful sight in his life. The creature craned its head to see the boy. He seemed to understand what it was trying to ask despite no words. He nodded slowly as he brought himself close to the creature, preparing himself for what was to come. The bird began to dive smoothly in and out of the clouds like they were rolling up and down hills. The boy brought himself to a smile as the up and down movements soothed him more so, like he was being rocked in one's arms. Then the creature moaned in a tone that sounded like it was asking a question. He wasn't sure why, but the boy guessed that it asked if he was enjoying himself, to which he nodded again. With a smile, the bird brought its flipper-like wings to its side and brought its head down slightly; it was preparing to dive. The boy kept his eyes wide open, wanting to watch. He did however; clench the bird's feathers harder than before. Finally, they began to descend at an incredible rate. He began to pant and lean in to the dive; adrenaline coursing through him as a sudden desire to go faster crept into his mind. The bird took note of his actions and adjusted its body so it would dive faster than before. In seconds the two had returned to the cloudy nightscape with the sea closing in fast. With just meters before they impacted with the sea, the creature opened its wings, making a bumpy but dry finish. The two laughed at the almost wet ending.

The bird tilted its whole body, allowing one wing to slice through the waters with ease. The boy watched this spectacle for a few minutes longer before the bird tilted further. The boy was given a chance to look at himself; the dark bags beneath his eyes showed he had been up all night, which he laughed at. He decided to mimic the bird and brought his fingertips to the water; cutting the water much like the bird did moments ago. The bird evened itself and flapped its wings a few times, bringing them higher into the air. The boy watched the bird crane its neck upwards and quickly realized what it was about to do, a flip to turn around. The boy held his breath as the bird began flying up to turn around. The boy threw his head back to see his world turn upside down. As the two normalized, the boy noticed that the clouds seemed to disappear and the morning sky appeared in a flash of vibrant orange. The low hanging sun reflected brightly on the waters below.

The boy suddenly saw the bird's eyes glow a faint blue. At first he didn't know what was happening, but then he saw the water below them warp and twist before finally snaking up and around the two. The boy's eyes went wide with marvel at the tendrils of ocean surrounding them. He apprehensively reached out with one hand still grasping the bird's neck to touch one tendril only to see his arm pass right through it, drenching his entire arm. He smirked as he heard the creature below him snicker.

The boy wasn't entirely sure whether his fatigue altered his mind or if he did not fear his situation anymore but he looked down at his hands that were still gripping the bird's neck. He continued to stare at his hands, attempting to force himself to let go. Finally, in one quick motion, the boy released his grip from the bird and allowed his arms to fall to his side slowly. The bird turned its head around to see what the boy had done and quickly shook its neck, glad to have feeling there once again. Finally, with a drawn out sigh, the boy began to spread his arms wide. The farther his arms grew apart, the bigger the smile on his face grew and the quicker his breathing became. At last, with his arms drawn out as far as they could manage, the boy let out a scream of pure excitement, never had he ever felt anything like this in his life and he simply loved it. The bird accompanied the boy with a long wail, clearly excited for him as well. The boy closed his eyes to better feel the salty ocean wind rushing past him.

When the boy opened his eyes again, he was back in his room, staring at the ceiling. His ears rang slightly as the sudden noises such as the wind and ocean vanished completely. He blinked a few times in shock as he brought his head up and looked to the window; it was still open. He jumped out of bed and ran towards the window. His eyes frantically darted around the outside scene, hoping to find a trace of the beast that visited him last night. Finding nothing, he sighed sadly, dismissing the events as a dream. He began to turn around and head back to bed; he spotted a gleam below in the sand by his home. He quickly but curiously ran outside and to the rough sand below. In his haste, he neglected to put on footwear so he was careful to not step on rocks and shells. He looked over at where he had seen the gleam and began leaping closer to it. When he finally reached it he brought himself to smile; it was a feather of pure silver. He picked it up delicately and looked out over the sea, wondering if he would ever see the magnificent creature again.

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**Notes**

*** The main inspiration for this story was the song "Bluebird" by Paul McCartney & Wings off of the album "Band on the Run"**

*** The creature was not called lugia in the story because it removes the mystery of the creature whisking the child away.**

*** The child is unnamed because it creates an easier vessel for you to put yourself in.**

*** This is the non-Transformation version of the story. The Transformation version can be found on my Deviantart profile.**


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